Do You Have Blood On Your Hands?
Tuesday, November 12
2 Kings 9:4-7 (NIV)
“So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. When he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. “I have a message for you, commander,” he said. “For which of us?” asked Jehu. “For you, commander,” he replied. Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil on Jehu’s head and declared, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you king over the LORD’s people Israel. You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the LORD’s servants shed by Jezebel.”
Devotion
Those influenced by the spirit of Jezebel often shed innocent blood. In the United States, the most innocent blood that is shed is that of unborn Americans. If you have the blood of the unborn on your hands, God will avenge this blood, just as surely as he avenged the blood shed by Jezebel as recorded in 2 Kings 9. Have you performed abortions, had an abortion, encouraged an abortion, paid for an abortion, or approved abortion through words or actions? If you have voted to intentionally keep shedding of blood legal, you have blood on your hands until and unless you repent and renounce this sin and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.
If you truly and deeply lament your blood guilt, the Lord says, “Come now, let us settle the matter. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though your sins are as a crimson stain, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land. But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” (Isaiah 1:18-20) The sin of shedding innocent blood is not too much to be forgiven and cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus.
But this is not a religious game. If you do not truly lament your participation in shedding innocent blood, God will avenge this blood. If you justify shedding innocent blood, or are secretly glad you did it, or you still secretly support and encourage abortion in the voting booth or in any other way, God's day of vengeance is coming for you, just as it came for Jezebel. “How can there be peace, when idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?” ( 2 Kings 9:22) There will not be peace for you on that day, for there is no peace for the wicked.
Today’s Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
Search me in the deepest place and show me if I have blood on my hands, if I have given violence of any kind a place in my life, especially violence towards God's servants or the unborn. Help me to hate the sin of shedding blood as much as Jesus hates it. Help me to fear the wrath and anger of God if I ever participate in violence against the image of God that dwells in every person, from the womb to the grave. Thank You for putting Your image in me and upon me, and making a way in Jesus for my most shameful and secret sins to be washed away and for me to be as white as snow. And once the log is out of my own eye, help me to see clearly to help remove the speck from the eyes of others who may still be under the sin of bloodguilt. In the Name of Jesus, I Pray. Amen.
Apply It Today
Followers of Jesus are called to be agents of repentance. We need the Holy Spirit in order to be effective. Sometimes the message that will bring life to an individual is a hard one to deliver. Let us be careful to be separate from evil ourselves, and then be willing to deliver a message we are given without compromise. Trust Jesus for the outcome.
Resources:
- Now is the time for you to admit to and repent from the sins in your life. Be emboldened to take that step of faith as you watch, “Made for More: Seeing Past Your Past”.
- We are praying Colossians 1:9-12 over you this week. Read it and be encouraged as you repent of your sin and become strengthened in the Lord.